[Entm-beu] UCLA La Kretz Center Postdoctoral Fellowship in California Conservation Science: Applications due November 26th, 2023.

[Gian C Ledesma]

Sent on behalf of Christina D Hoddle christina.hoddle at ucr.edu<mailto:christina.hoddle at ucr.edu>



[cid:ii_lnkmiawu4]

The 2024 UCLA La Kretz Center Postdoctoral Fellowship in California Conservation Science

Applications are due November 26th, 2023.

https://www.ioes.ucla.edu/lakretz/

https://www.ioes.ucla.edu/lakretz/our-work/fellowships/

The UCLA La Kretz Center for California Conservation Science invites applications for its 2024 Postdoctoral Fellowship in California Conservation Science. We seek to hire one or more postdoctoral scholars who conduct innovative biological research at the interface of applied and basic science. Our long-term goal is to help fund a cadre of innovative young scientists who will work closely with UCLA faculty, help broaden the mission of conservation science for the campus, and lead to long-term collaborations between our academic scientists and applied conservation partners that will direct and lead California conservation efforts.

Candidates may work in any discipline that provides the scientific underpinnings for the preservation, protection, management, or restoration of at-risk species, environments, or ecological communities in California. Current and past La Kretz Postdocs have worked on a wide variety of research topics, ranging from urban biodiversity and evolutionary adaptation, to wildfire management and conservation, to the interface of conservation and animal behavior; we are open to work in any California ecosystem or group of organisms, as long as the research is innovative, creative, and has clear practical significance. An important new initiative, the California Conservation Genomics Project (CCGP), is a large, multi-campus initiative led by the La Kretz Center that is delivering genomic resources to California decision-makers to enhance species and habitat management, and candidates may seek to build off of that project in the realm of conservation genomics: https://www.ccgproject.org/.

Fellows must have an on-campus UCLA mentor and an off-campus, non-university mentor working at a La Kretz Center affiliated institution, these are: The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, The Nature Conservancy, US Fish and Wildlife Service, US Geological Survey, US Bureau of Land Management, Natural Communities Coalition, Natural Communities Coalition, or Department of Defense. This list is available at https://www.ioes.ucla.edu/lakretz/people/

For those potentially interested in working with museum collections and someone from The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, any curator, especially those in the Urban Nature Research Center, could be a potential off-campus mentor. These include:

Mammals: Kayce Bell <kbell at nhm.org<mailto:kbell at nhm.org>>

Herpetology: Greg Pauly <gpauly at nhm.org<mailto:gpauly at nhm.org>>

Ornithology/Birds: Allison Shultz <ashultz at nhm.org<mailto:ashultz at nhm.org>>

Malacology/Mollusks: Jann Vendetti <jvendetti at nhm.org<mailto:jvendetti at nhm.org>>

For other departments, see: https://nhm.org/research-collections/departments-and-programs

The Fellow is expected to work closely with their identified UCLA mentor and one or more off-campus agency partner(s) in developing their project. All applications should include a letter (which may be brief) from each mentor stating their support for the project, what they can contribute to it, and how it fits into their work in conservation biology. Applications that do not include these letters of support will be considered incomplete and ineligible for consideration. Projects that bring co-funding, from mentors or other agencies or individuals, are always encouraged, but co-funding is not a requirement. Off- campus mentors may be drawn from any California agency or NGO, including federal and state groups. A partial list of some of our active partners and contact people includes:

The Nature Conservancy: contact Sophie Parker; Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County: contact Jann Vendetti; US Geological Survey: contact Robert Fisher
US Bureau of Land Management: contact Mike Westphal; US Fish and Wildlife Service: contact Cat Darst; Natural Communities Coalition: contact ames Sulentich/Danny L. Fry;
National Park Service: contact Katy Delaney; National Park Service: contact Seth Riley; Department of Defense: contact Robert Lovich

The La Kretz Fellowship is for two years, subject to review after the first year. The target start date is September 2024 and is flexible. The position offers a competitive salary, full benefits, and a research/travel allowance of $7,500. Candidates who have recently completed their Ph.D. or will have completed it by August 2024 are encouraged to apply.

To apply, please send applications to lakretz at ioes.ucla.edu<mailto:lakretz at ioes.ucla.edu> as a single PDF file that includes (i) a brief cover letter introducing yourself and your project, (ii) your full CV, (iii) a research and management accomplishments statement (maximum one page), (iv) a project proposal that lays out, in some detail, your project, including motivation, methods, expected outcomes/results, why this work is important to academic and applied audiences, and how it integrates with the research of your mentors (maximum three pages, including figures and references), (v) a letter of support (which may be brief) from your on-campus UCLA mentor and your off-campus agency/NGO mentor, and (vi) two of your relevant publications. We also ask that you have (vii) two letters of reference sent, one of which should be from your Ph.D. advisor (these are in addition to the letters from your proposed mentors). Please arrange to have reference letters emailed to the same address with the subject line "La Kretz Postdoc letter for (your last name)". The deadline for completed applications is November 26th, 2023.

For a full description of past fellows and their work, please visit us at https://www.ioes.ucla.edu/lakretz/

Please email all questions to Brad Shaffer, Director of the La Kretz Center, at brad.shaffer at ucla.edu<mailto:brad.shaffer at ucla.edu>.

Please distribute to potentially interested applicants.

____________________________________________

Jann Elizabeth Vendetti, Ph.D.

she/her

Associate Curator & Twila Bratcher Chair in Malacology

Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County

900 Exposition Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90007

Phone: (213) 763-3380

Email: jvendetti at nhm.org<mailto:jvendett at nhm.org>





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